A typical roller counting device comprises one or more number bearing rollers rotatably mounted on a first shaft for maintaining a count. One or more notched disks are mounted on a second shaft which extends parallel to the first shaft. The notched disks engage the number bearing rollers for the purpose of advancing the count maintained by the number bearing rollers.
One drawback to prior art counting devices of this type is that they do not include a suitable mechanism for resetting the count at zero.
One such counter is disclosed in Swiss Pat. No. 479,919. In the counter described in this reference, the count is reset to zero by first disengaging the notched disks from the number bearing rollers. This is accomplished by moving the shaft on which the notched disks are mounted away from the shaft on which the number bearing rollers are mounted. Each number bearing roller is then set individually to zero by taking into consideration its individual position. No stop mechanism is provided so that the rollers automatically stop turning when the zero position is reached.
The German Patent to Soupenne DE-AS 16 73 946 discloses a number bearing roller which has a tooth protruding radially outward from its surface by a small amount. The tooth forms part of a zero reset mechanism. More particularly, during the zero reset procedure, the number bearing roller stops turning when the tooth extending outward from the number bearing roller jams against a tooth extending outward from an adjacent notched disk. However, such a stop mechanism is only useful when the distance between the shaft carrying the number bearing rollers and the shaft bearing the notched disks is precisely maintained. Such precision is difficult and consequently expensive to achieve.
The German Patent to Kubler, DE OS 31 12 678, shows a notched disk which abuts against a stop during a zero reset procedure, so that the notched disk does not rotate during the zero reset procedure. However, no zero reset mechanism suitable for use with a simple roller counting device is disclosed.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a simple inexpensive roller counting device that includes a zero reset mechanism which is easy to use and which overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art zero reset mechanisms.